Ten Summoner's Tales
Untitled | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Chicago Tribune | [2] |
Deseret News | (Positive)[3] |
Entertainment Weekly | (A) [4] |
Los Angeles Times | [5] |
The New York Times | (Positive)[6] |
Robert Christgau | [7] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
Ten Summoner's Tales is the fourth solo studio album by the rock musician Sting. The title is a combined pun of his given name, Gordon Sumner, and a character in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the summoner. Released in 1993, it explores themes of love and morality in a noticeably upbeat mood compared to his previous release, the introspective The Soul Cages.
This album contained two U.S. hits; "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Fields of Gold" reached #23.[9]
Ten Summoner's Tales was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 1993. In 1994, it was nominated for five Grammy awards, winning Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance ("If I Ever Lose My Faith in You") and Best Long Form Music Video. It did not win Album of the Year or Record of The Year.
A long form video featuring alternate musical performances and live versions of all tracks was filmed at Lake House and released in conjunction with the album. The video went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Video in 1994 and was directed by Doug Nichol and produced by Julie Fong.
The 1998 re-release CD includes a bonus video track of "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You". It also features the song "Everybody Laughed But You", which was excluded from the original 1993 release in the US and Canada. The song did appear on the original release in the UK, Europe, Japan and other territories, and the "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" single. The instrumental track for "Everybody Laughed But You" was also used with an alternate lyric and released as "January Stars" on the "Seven Days" and "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" singles.
The cover of the album was photographed at Wardour Old Castle in Wiltshire, England, featuring Hrímnir, an Icelandic horse Sting owned for a period. The album was recorded at Lake House, Wiltshire, mixed at The Townhouse Studio, London and mastered at Masterdisk, New York.[10]
A different version of "It's Probably Me", featuring Eric Clapton, was featured in the opening titles of Lethal Weapon 3. This version is available as a single. In 1994, "Shape of My Heart" was featured in the end credits of Léon, replacing Eric Serra's The Experience of Love (a track that Serra eventually used in his 1995 soundtrack for the James Bond film GoldenEye).
Track listing
All songs written by Sting except where noted.
- "Prologue (If I Ever Lose My Faith in You)" – 4:30
- "Love Is Stronger Than Justice (The Munificent Seven)" – 5:11
- "Fields of Gold" – 3:42
- "Heavy Cloud No Rain" – 3:39
- "She's Too Good for Me" – 2:30
- "Seven Days" – 4:40
- "Saint Augustine in Hell" – 5:05
- "It's Probably Me" (Sting, Eric Clapton, Michael Kamen) – 4:57
- "Everybody Laughed But You" – 3:53 (Excluded from original Canada/US releases)[1]
- "Shape of My Heart" (Sting, Dominic Miller) – 4:38
- "Something the Boy Said" – 5:13
- "Epilogue (Nothing 'Bout Me)" – 3:39
French Bonus disc - five live recordings
- "All This Time"
- "Roxanne"
- "The Soul Cages"
- "Walking On The Moon"
- "Fortress Around Your Heart"
Singles
Year | Title | Chart positions | ||
U.S. Hot 100[9] | U.S. Modern Rock[9] | UK Singles Chart[11] | ||
1992 | It's Probably Me | - | 20 | 30 |
1993 | If I Ever Lose My Faith in You | 17 | - | 14 |
Seven Days | - | - | 25 | |
Fields of Gold | 23 | - | 16 | |
Shape of My Heart | - | - | 57 | |
Love is Stronger Than Justice (The Munificent Seven)[12] | - | - | - | |
1994 | Nothing 'Bout Me | 57 | - | 32 |
Personnel
- Sting: Vocals, bass, harmonica, saxophone[10]
- Dominic Miller: Guitars
- Vinnie Colaiuta: Drums
- David Sancious: Keyboards
- Larry Adler: Chromatic harmonica
- Brendan Power: Chromatic harmonica
- John Barclay: Trumpet
- Guy Barker: Trumpet
- Sian Bell: Cello
- James Boyd: Viola
- Richard Edwards: Trombone
- Simon Fischer: Violin
- David Foxxe: Narration
- Paul Franklin: Pedal steel guitar
- Kathryn Greeley: Violin
- Dave Heath: Flute
- Kathryn Tickell: Northumbrian smallpipes, fiddle
- Mark Nightingale: Trombone
- David Sanborn: Saxophone
Production
- Produced By Sting & Hugh Padgham
- Engineered By Hugh Padgham
- Assistant Engineer, Mix Assistant: Pete Lewis
- Mixed By David Tickle & Hugh Padgham
- Mastered By David Tickle
Samples and covers
Shape of My Heart
The backing track of "Shape of My Heart" was used, in a slightly altered way, by rapper Nas on his song "The Message" on the 1996 album It Was Written. In the later 1990s and the 2000s, it became a popular sample in R&B and hip hop songs, possibly inspired by Nas' usage. It has been sampled or interpolated in the following additional songs:
- "Take Him Back" by Monica from the 1998 album The Boy Is Mine
- "Release Me" by Blaque from the 1999 album Blaque
- "Never Let Go" by Hikaru Utada from the 1999 album First Love (re-recorded instrumental)
- "Emotional" by Carl Thomas from the 2000 album Emotional
- "Ways of the World" by Lil' Zane from the 2000 album Young World: The Future
- Some live renditions of the 2001 song "Je Moest Waarschijnlijk Gaan" by Brainpower
- "Rise & Fall" by Craig David from the 2002 album Slicker Than Your Average (re-recorded instrumentals, and chorus sung, with new lyrics, by Sting)
- "Shape" by the Sugababes from the 2002 album Angels with Dirty Faces (included the original chorus vocals as well as the song's B-section)
- "Ways to Avoid the Sun" by Rain (2003) has a similar melody, which was probably inspired by this song.
- "I Crave You" by Shontelle from the 2008 album Shontelligence
- "For My Soldiers" by Pastor Troy from the 2008 album Attitude Adjuster (included some of the song's original chorus)
- By Lee Ritenour featuring Steve Lukather and Andy McKee on the 2010 album 6 String Theory Cover version.
Fields of Gold
- By Eva Cassidy on the 1996 album Live at Blues Alley
- By Mary Black on the 1999 album Speaking with the Angel
- By I Muvrini in 2000, the English-Corsican version "Terre d'Oru", featuring Sting himself
- By CJ Crew on the 2002 eurodance compilation Dancemania Speed 9
- By Mary Wilson on her 2007 album Up Close: Live from San Francisco
- By Jay and Abby Michaels - The Harper and The Minstrel (arranged for Celtic Harp and Female Vocal) from their 2008 album For A Moment.
- By Celtic Woman soloist, Lisa Kelly, on their new Songs From the Heart special on PBS.
- By Will Martin on the 2010 album Inspirations.
Accolades
Grammy Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Ten Summoner's Tales | Album of the Year[13] | Nominated |
Best Engineered Non-classical Album[14] | Won | ||
Best Longform Music Video[14] | Won | ||
"If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" | Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male[14] | Won | |
Record of the Year[13] | Nominated | ||
Song of the Year[13] | Nominated |
Charts
Chart positions
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
|
Chart procession and succession
References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Ten Summoner's Tales at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-10-3.
- ^ Kot, Greg (1993-03-07). "Feeling A Sting". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Boren, Ray (1993-04-09). "Feeling A Sting". deseretnews.com. Deseret News. Retrieved 2011-10-3.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Moon, Tom (1993-03-12). "Ten Summoner's Tales Review". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-10-3.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help) - ^ Willman, Chris (1993-03-07). "Album Review: STING "Ten Summoner's Tales"". articles.latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-10-3.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Holden, Stephen (1993-03-07). "RECORDINGS VIEW; Sting Plays a Modern-Day Chaucer". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Robert Christgau review". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
- ^ "Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
- ^ a b c allmusic ((( Sting > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))
- ^ a b "Album info". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
- ^ Sting in the UK Charts, The Official Charts.
- ^ Love is Stronger than Justice (German CD sales listing).
- ^ a b c "Sting Nominated To Receive 6 Grammys". nytimes.com. New York Times. 1994-01-07. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ a b c "Past Winners Search". grammy.com. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
- ^ "australian-charts.com Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales" (ASP). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
- ^ "austriancharts.at Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2011-10-31
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ "Album Search: Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ a b "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1993" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2011-10-12.
- ^ スティング-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of Ten Summoner's Tales by Sting". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
{{cite web}}
: Check|url=
value (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "charts.org.nz Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ "Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "allmusic ((( Ten Summoner's Tales > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1993". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-3.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help) - ^ "The RPM Top 100 Albums of 1993". RPM. Retrieved 2011-10-3.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help) - ^ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1993". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-3.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help) - ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 2011-10-3.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help) - ^ "Billboard.BIZ - Year-end Charts - Billboard 200 - 1993". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2011-10-3.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help) - ^ "Canadian album certifications – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales". Music Canada.
- ^ a b "Sting" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
- ^ "Les Albums Double Or". infodisc.fr (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
- ^ "French album certifications – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sting; 'Ten Summoner's Tales')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4871310779.
{{cite book}}
:|access-date=
requires|url=
(help) - ^ "Dutch album certifications – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Ten Summoner's Tales in the "Artiest of titel" box.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Ten Summoner's Tales')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- ^ "British album certifications – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Ten Summoner's Tales in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "American album certifications – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales". Recording Industry Association of America.
- Stingoop.com Ten Summoner's Tales Release Details
- sting.com Ten Summoner's Tales Release Details on Sting's official website